Dancing, Veterans, Marriage, the Lazarus Effect

Coming up on Friday, April 19, East End personalities will be doing the tango and the cha-cha all in the name of charity for the “Dancing With The East End Stars” benefit.

I participated in this event in 2011, and let me tell you, it’s a hilariously great time. There is nothing quite as charming as watching a local with two left feet really make an effort to dance—especially for such a great cause. The money raised from the event will go to “Your Day Away,” a wonderful charity that provides the parents of special needs children the means to get away from their daily routines and enjoy a day of fun and dining—all thanks to the efforts of volunteers at the charity who understand the challenges of raising a special needs child.

“Dancing With The East End Stars” will take place at 230 Elm in Southampton, and Terri Kiernan (TownofSouthampton), JoeShaw (27 East Press News Group), AlyssaGiruzzi (The Corcoran Group) and Rosane Cassella-Wilson (Southampton Rotary Club) will be among the East End stars stepping out in style. I won’t be there this year, but you can watch a video of me dancing away two years ago on my blog at DansHamptons.com. I won “Best Smile.” Not surprisingly, I didn’t win best dancer.

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Congrats to John Lynch

In 1989, with four homeless veterans in a two-bedroom apartment, Vietnam Veteran John Lynch founded the Suffolk County United Veterans. With a main office in Riverhead, the program continues to assist homeless veterans in regaining their dignity and independence. Last Saturday in EastIslip, Lynch was honored at a dinner at Amvets Hall, where he announced his retirement. Congrats, Mr. Lynch. Suffolk County and the United States owe you a
great debt.

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On Marriage

I was walking down Main Street in Southampton and I saw two guys holding hands together on the sidewalk. I just got engaged, and my immediate thought was,

“I can’t believe it’s even a debate that gay people cannot get married.”

Marriage isn’t a license between a man and a woman, it’s a license to show your lifetime commitment to another person.

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Life and Death and Life

If you need to be brought back from the dead, Dr. Sam Parina at Stony Brook University Hospital is your man. I read about Parina,
who is originally from England, in TheGuardian, which reported on his remarkable work as head of intensive care at StonyBrook. He wrote a book called The LazarusEffect in the hopes of spreading the word about how medical professionals can become more effective at resuscitation, and his record seems to speak for itself: Parnia offers those who need to be resuscitated a 33% chance of coming back to life, as compared to just 16% at other hospitals.

He argues that we now know more about what is happening when a person is dead and then brought back to life through CPR than ever before, and that there are things doctors can do in a hospital setting—such as utilizing machines, cooling down the body and increasing oxygen levels in the blood—that more doctors should be focusing on.

Parnia believes that if more people understood ways to increase the care level of resuscitation, 40,000 American lives could be saved.

This is a man who watches people die every day, does everything he can to bring them back to life, and is having more success then anybody else.

I’m anxious to check out his book…but I hope I never have to meet this guy at his “office.”